HUL, Bharti, NTPC among 25 best employers: Hewitt

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL), telecom player Bharti Airtel and state-owned NTPC were adjudged among the best employers in India by leading global human resources management company Aon Hewitt.

Aon Hewit in its seventh 'Best Employer in India Study 2011', done in partnership with magazine Outlook Business, has listed the country's 25 companies that provide the best working environment for employees.

HUL is put on top of the list as the best employer, followed by Aditya Birla Group, LG Electronics India, Godrej Consumer Products, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Becton Dickinson India, Aircel, Wipro and Marriott Hotels India.

According to the study, despite wide variance in industries and company profiles, the firms share some common winning traits such as -- alignment of people practices to the overall business strategy of the firm and an environment which creates a positive employment experience.

"Best Employers in India represent organisations that have done an outstanding job of aligning people strategy with articulated business strategy. The best have been able to offer a compelling career proposition to their employees in a high performing work environment that differentiates needs, expectations and drivers of different employee segments," Aon Hewitt India Project Director Rakesh Malik said.

These companies are achieving superior business results, through better execution of people programs, more investment in high quality staff with higher average salary and more rounded skills development.

The top employers include companies from various sectors such as banking, manufacturing, IT & ITes, telecom, hospitality, FMCG and consumer durable, with staff ranging from less than 1,000 to over 70,000 employees.

Other companies that figure on the list include Kotak Mahindra Bank, Scope International, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Whirlpool of India, Maruti Suzuki India, Canon India, Ford Group, Tata Teleservices, Mindtree, NIIT, Tata Steel, Jubiliant Foodworks, Cognizant Technology Solutions, FirstSource Solutions and Aegis.

The companies were judged on the various criterion including -- organisation score on a combination of the overall engagement and alignment scores, scores on leadership, diversity and development.